Beneath The Ashes

Ivy's POV

"Th fuck you talking about !!?" Massimo called out.

My knees felt like they'd crumble under me the moment Dimitri called out. There was a long beat of silence as I braced for what was coming.

Then—

Camila stepped through the hallway.

My mother.
This was it. The moment all the fear, the pain, the secrets came crashing in.

"I knew you were a lying bitch. You monster!"

My voice cut through the warehouse, sharp as shattered glass.

"Never fucking believed you anyway!"

My brothers gasped. Zayn's eyes widened. Felipe stayed close beside me, ready.

Massimo's voice cracked, confused and protective:

"Ivy—what's happening? What are you talking about?"

Dimitri let his twist of a smile bloom into full darkness.

"Oh, Ivy didn't mention? Her mother visited her at the gala."

He raised an eyebrow, smug. Then turned to Camila—like she was part of his chessboard.

"All thanks to my timely appearance, Camila slipped in quietly."

He paused to let that sink into the silence, then continued.

"We thought we could sway her stance. She nearly did. But alas—the girl has stronger roots."

"What the fuck do you want now?!" Massimo thundered.

Dimitri's tone dropped.

"Can't you see? It was never about De Luca at all." He looked me dead in the eye. "It was always about me."

Electric rage pulsed through me, my heart in my throat.

"Who do you think supported De Luca? Provided him men, weapons, intel..." He gestured to the ruined body at De Luca's feet.

"He was just a pawn. A stepping stone. My revenge long overdue."

My chest tightened.

He lifted a finger, putting on a show.

"Let me tell you a story," he said, voice low and smooth—poison pouring out. "The story you'd love to hear."

He let the suspense hang.

"America. This empire. It's always been my ambition. It was already mine before Massimo took control. You Vitalos stood in my way"

Dimitri's voice slithered into the room, arrogant and poisonous, his words coiling around my spine.

"But God heard me," he said, stepping closer into the broken light that filtered through the warehouse's busted ceiling. "And one day...Camila walked into my life."

I stared at the woman standing beside him—my mother—and for the first time, I didn't feel pain. I felt rage. Pure and trembling. She didn't even flinch. Her lips were pursed, unreadable.

"It was six...maybe seven years ago," Dimitri went on, his voice slipping into a mockery of nostalgia. "When little Ivy had just turned fourteen. Still bright-eyed. Still soft."

My stomach turned.

"Camila," he said, turning toward her with fondness that made me want to rip through my own skin, "was just a charming woman with a tragic story. A story she let me mold." His eyes flicked back to me. "I promised her money, love, Sex And on my word, she went to Marcus Vitalo's doorstep."